Kentucky 4th Unbeaten and 24th with fewer than 2 losses to not win National Title since 1976

Kentucky failed to become the first team to finish the season unbeaten since Indiana went undefeated to win the National Championship in 1976.  Since that time, 24 teams have entered the NCAA Tournament with fewer than 2 losses.  None of them have won the tournament.

• 1977: Arkansas (26-1) lost to Wake Forest 86-80 in the Round of 32
• 1977: San Francisco (29-1) lost to UNLV 121-95 in the Round of 32
• 1979: Indiana State (29-0) lost to Michigan State 75-64 in the National Championship
• 1980: Alcorn State (27-1) lost to Louisiana State 98-88 in the Round of 32
• 1980: DePaul (26-1) lost to UCLA 77-71 in the Round of 32
• 1981: DePaul (27-1) lost to St. Joseph's 49-48 in the Round of 32
• 1981: Oregon State (26-1) lost to Kansas State 50-48 in the Round of 32
• 1982: DePaul (26-1) lost to Boston College 82-75 in the Round of 32
• 1987: UNLV (33-1) lost to Indiana 97-93 in the National Semifinals
• 1988: Temple (29-1) lost to Duke 63-53 in the Elite Eight
• 1990: La Salle (29-1) lost to Clemson 79-75 in the Round of 32
• 1991: UNLV (30-0) lost to Duke 79-77 in the National Semifinals
• 1996: Massachusetts (31-1) lost to Kentucky 81-74 in the National Semifinals
• 1996: Texas Tech (28-1) lost to Georgetown 98-90 in the Sweet Sixteen
• 1997: Kansas (32-1) lost to Arizona 85-82 in the Sweet Sixteen
• 1998: Princeton (26-1) lost to Michigan State 63-56 in the Round of 32
• 1999: Duke (32-1) lost to Connecticut 77-74 in the National Championship
• 2004: St. Joseph's (27-1) lost to Oklahoma State 64-62 in the Elite Eight
• 2004: Stanford (29-1) lost to Alabama 70-67 in the Round of 32
• 2005: Illinois (32-1) lost to North Carolina 75-70 in the National Championship
• 2008: Memphis (33-1) lost to Kansas 75-68 in the National Championship
• 2012: Murray State (30-1) lost to Marquette 62-53 in the Round of 32
• 2014: Wichita State (34-0) lost to Kentucky 78-76 in the Round of 32
• 2015: Kentucky (34-0) lost to Wisconsin 71-64 in the National Semifinals

East Region Tournament Facts

Here are some tournament facts about tonight's East Region Semifinalists:

Marquette is in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2003.  It is their 7th Elite Eight appearance.

Buzz Williams will be coaching in his first Elite Eight.

Syracuse is in the Elite Eight for the 2nd consecutive year.  It is their 9th Elite Eight appearance.

Jim Boeheim will be coaching in his 6th Elite Eight.

This will be the second time that Marquette and Syracuse have faced each other in the tournament in 3 years.  They played each other in the Round of 32 in  2011 with Marquette winning 66-62.

This is the 3rd time that two Big East teams will be facing each other in the Elite Eight.  In the other two games, the lower seed won:

• 1987 - #6 Providence 88 #1 Georgetown 73
• 2009 - #3 Villanova 78 #1 Pittsburgh 76

This is only the second time that Marquette has defeated a #2 seed.  Their other victory over a #2 seed was in the 2003 Elite Eight vs. Pittsburgh.  Marquette went to the Final Four that year.

During 2003, Marquette defeated #14, #6, #2 and #1 seeds in route to the Final Four.  So far this year, they have defeated #14, #6 and #2 seeds.

Marquette is 5-7 vs. teams ranked in the Top 5 in the AP Poll.  However, they have won the last 3 times they have played a Top 5 team:

• 2003 - Defeated #4 Pittsburgh 77-74 in the Sweet Sixteen
• 2003 - Defeated #1 Kentucky 83-69 in the Elite Eight
• 2013 - Defeated #5 Miami, Fla 71-61 in the Sweet Sixteen

Syracuse is 5-10 vs. teams ranked in the Top 5 in the AP Poll.  However, they have won their last 3 times they have played a Top 5 team:

• 2003 - Defeated #3 Oklahoma 63-47 in the Elite Eight
• 2003 - Defeated #5 Texas 95-84 in the National Semifinals
• 2013 - Defeated #4 Indiana 61-50 in the Sweet Sixteen

Syracuse is now 4-6 vs. #1 seeds.  They are tied for the 7th most wins over #1 seeds.  All wins have been as a lower seed, which is tied for 5th most upsets over #1 seeds.

Syracuse is 2-7 vs. the Big Ten.  Both of those wins have come in Sweet Sixteen games the last two years.  They defeated Wisconsin last year in the Sweet Sixteen 64-63.

Miami is now 0-2 in the Sweet Sixteen and has never advanced to the Elite Eight in 7 tournament appearances.
Miami is now 1-4 vs. ranked opponents.

Miami's 61 points is the fewest that they have scored in 13 tournament games.  Their previous low was 62 vs. UCLA in the 1998 Round of 64.

Indiana's 50 points is the 5th fewest that they have scored in 96 tournament games.  It is the 7th fewest that Syracuse has allowed in 94 tournament games.

Indiana fails to reach the Elite Eight as a #1 seed for the first time (3 appearances).

East Regional Sweet Sixteen Matchups

Indiana vs. Syracuse
Indiana defeated Syracuse 74-73 in the 1987 National Championship

Indiana vs.

• Big East: 1-6
• State of New York: 2-1
• Location-District of Columbia: 1-1
• Seed - #1: 11-1
• Opp. Seed - #4: 2-1

Syracuse vs.

• Big Ten: 1-7
• State of Indiana: 1-2
• Location-District of Columbia: 0-0
• Seed - #4: 12-5
• Opp. Seed - #1: 3-6

Miami, Fla vs. Marquette
Have never played in the tournament

Miami, Fla. vs. 

• Big East: 0-0
• State of Wisconsin: 0-0
• Location-District of Columbia: 0-0
• Seed - #2: 3-1
• Opp. Seed - #3: 1-0

Marquette vs. 

• Atlantic Coast: 2-3
• State of Florida: 0-1
• Location-District of Columbia: 0-0
• Seed - #3: 9-3
• Opp. Seed - #2: 1-5

Sweet Sixteen Tournament Facts

Longest Current Streak of Sweet Sixteen Appearances
1. Ohio State 4
2. Florida 3
    Kansas 3
    Marquette 3
5. Indiana 2
    Louisville 2
    Michigan State 2
    Syracuse 2

Longest Droughts Snapped
1. La Salle (1955)
2. Michigan (1994)
3. Miami, Fla (2000)
4. Wichita State (2006)
5. Oregon (2007)
6. Duke (2011)
    Arizona (2011)

First Appearance
Florida Gulf Coast

Appearances by Conference
1. Big Ten 4
2. Big East 3
3. Atlantic Coast 2
    Pacific Twelve 2
5. Atlantic Sun 1
    Atlantic Ten 1
    Big Twelve 1
    Missouri Valley 1
    Southeastern 1

Consecutive Years with Multiple Sweet Sixteens by Conference
1. Big East 12
2. Big Ten 6
3. Atlantic Coast 3

Big Ten has 4 teams in the Sweet Sixteen for the second consecutive year.  It is the first time in conference history that they have achieved that feat. 

Conferences that have had consecutive years with 4 Sweet Sixteen teams:

• ACC (1984 to 1986, 1989 to 1990, 1992 to 1993)
• Big Ten (2012 to 2013)
• Pacific Twelve (1997 to 1998)

Appearances by State
1. Florida 3
2. Kansas 2 
    Michigan 2 
4. Arizona 1
    Indiana 1
    Kentucky 1
    New York 1
    North Carolina 1
    Ohio 1
    Oregon 1
    Pennsylvania 1
    Wisconsin 1

Consecutive Years with a Sweet Sixteen Bid by State
1. North Carolina 34
2. Kansas 8
3. Ohio 7
4. Kentucky 6
5. Indiana 5
6. Florida 3
    Wisconsin 3
8. Michigan 2
    New York 2

Indiana - Temple Tournament Facts

Here are some NCAA Tournament facts about Indiana and Temple:

Post-Game:
Indiana is in the Sweet Sixteen for the 21st time.  It is their second consecutive appearance.  This is the first time since 1993-94 that Indiana is in back-to-back Sweet Sixteens.

The Big Ten is 17-9 vs. the Atlantic Ten with 2 victories during this round.

The 58 points is the fewest in a victory for Indiana since 1967 when they defeated Tennessee 51-44 in the Regional Third Place Game.

The 52 points allowed is the fewest that Indiana has allowed since 1984 when they lost to Virginia 50-48 in the Elite Eight.

Indiana is now 11-1 as a #1 seed.  Only Florida and Maryland have a better record at 6-0.

Temple is now 0-9 vs. a #1 seed which is a tournament worst.

Pre-Game:
Indiana defeated Temple 67-58 in 1994 Round of 32

Indiana is in the Round of 32 for the 22nd time.  It is their second consecutive trip.  They are 15-6 in the Round of 32.

Indiana is 2-1 vs. the Atlantic Ten:

• 1978 - Lost to Villanova 61-60 in the Sweet Sixteen
• 1994 - Defeated Temple 67-58 in the Round of 32
• 1999 - George Washington 108-88 in the Round of 64

Indiana is 10-1 as a #1 seed.  They won the National Championship as a #1 seed in 1987.

Indiana is 24-5 when ranked vs. an unranked opponent.  Temple is 5-14 when unranked vs. a ranked opponent.

Indiana is a tournament worst 0-3 on March 24.

Indiana is 8-1 on Sundays.

Temple is in the Round of 32 for the 20th time.  Their last appearance was 2011.  They are 6-13 in the Round of 32.

Temple is 4-8 vs. the Big Ten

Temple is tied with Arkansas for a tournament worst 0-8 vs. #1 seeds.  They are 0-11 vs. #1 or #2 seeds which is the worst record in tournament history.

Indiana - James Madison Tournament Facts

Here are some NCAA Tournament facts about Indiana and James Madison:

Post-Game:
The Big Ten is 8-3 vs. the Colonial.

Indiana is now 10-1 as a #1 seed.

The 83 points that Indiana scored is the most that James Madison has given up in 9 tournament games. Their previous high allowed was 68 vs. North Carolina in the 1983 Round of 32.

The 21-point loss was the worst defeat by James Madison in the tournament.  Their previous high was in the same North Carolina game by 19.

Pre-Game:
Indiana is 4-1 vs. teams from the Colonial.  They lost to Richmond 72-69 in the 1988 Round of 64.

Indiana has been a #1 Seed two other times.  They won the National Championship in 1987 and lost to Kansas in the Elite Eight in 1993.

Indiana is 4-1 when playing in the state of Ohio.

Friday is the only day that Indiana has a losing record in the tournament.  They are 7-12 on Fridays.

James Madison has played one Big Ten team in past tournaments defeating Ohio State 55-48 in the 1982 First Round.

James Madison has played a #1 seed once losing to North Carolina 52-50 in the 1982 Round of 32.

This is the first time that James Madison has every played on a Friday in tournament history.

Tournament Appearances by State

Most appearances by State

• California 5 (California, Pacific, St. Mary's, San Diego State, UCLA)
• North Carolina 5 (Davidson, Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina State)
• Pennsylvania 5 (Bucknell, La Salle, Pittsburgh, Temple, Villanova)
• Indiana 4 (Butler, Indiana, Notre Dame, Valparaiso)
• New York 4 (Albany, Iona, Long Island-Brooklyn, Syracuse)

Consecutive years with at least one school in the tournament
1. California 64
2. Kentucky 50
3. New York 41
4. North Carolina 40
5. Pennsylvania 37
6. Ohio 32
7. Kansas 30
8. Florida 16
    Michigan 16
    Washington 16

Texas has no teams in the tournament for the first time since 1977 ending a string of 35 consecutive appearances.  Utah has no teams for the first time since 1994 ending a string of 18 consecutive appearances.

Consecutive years with at least two schools in the tournament
1. North Carolina 37
2. California 27
3. Kentucky 22
4. Ohio 17
5. New York 16
6. Pennsylvania 15
7. Wisconsin 9
8. Tennessee 8
9. Indiana 7
10. Michigan 5
      Virginia 5

Texas had at least two teams for the last 11 tournaments before having no teams this year.

Consecutive years with at least three schools in the tournament
1. California 9
2. Tennessee 8
3. New York 5
    Ohio 5
5. Indiana 4
6. North Carolina 3
    Virginia 3

Texas had at least three teams for the last 6 tournaments before having no teams this year.  Kentucky also had at least three teams for the last 6 tournaments before having two teams this year.

California has at least 4 schools in the tournament for the 9th consecutive year.

North Carolina has 5 schools in the tournament for the 2nd consecutive year.

Schools that achieved their highest ever Seed

Teams that achieved their highest ever Seed in this tournament.  Those that achieved it for the first time are in bold.

#1 Seed

• Gonzaga (1st time) - Previous high #2 in 2004
• Indiana (3rd time) - Last time was 1993
• Kansas (11th time) - Last time was 2011
• Louisville (3rd time) - Last time was 2009

#2 Seed

• Miami, Florida (2nd time) - Last time was 1999

 #3 Seed

• New Mexico (3rd time) - Last time was 2010
• Marquette (4th time) - 2nd consecutive year

#4 Seed

• Saint Louis (1st time) - Previous high #7 in 1994

#8 Seed

• Colorado State (1st time) - Previous high #10 in 1989 and 1990

#11 Seed

• Belmont (1st time) - Previous high #13 in 2011
• Middle Tennessee State (2nd time) - Last time was 1982

#12 Seed

•  Akron (1st time) - Previous high #13 in 2009

#13 Seed

• Boise State (1st time) - Previous high #14 in 1988, 1993, 1994 and 2008
• South Dakota State (1st time) - Previous high #14 in 2012

#14 Seed

• Northwestern State (2nd time) - Last time was 2006

#15 Seed

• Florida Gulf Coast (1st time) - First tournament appearance

 #16 Seed

• Liberty (3rd time) - Last time was 2004

RPI Facts - NCAA Tournament

Southern Mississippi has the highest RPI of any team that missed this year's tournament at #30.

California has the lowest RPI of any at-large team that made this year's tournament at #53.  The record is #74 held by New Mexico in 1999.

Duke is the 6th team to finish #1 in the RPI (since it began in 1994) and not receive a #1 seed.  The other #1 RPI teams to not get a #1 seed and their results are:

• 1995 North Carolina - #2 Seed - Lost in National Semifinals to Arkansas 
• 2000 Cincinnati - #2 Seed - Lost in Round of 32 to Tulsa
• 2005 Kansas - #3 Seed - Lost in Round of 64 to Bucknell
• 2008 Tennessee - #2 Seed - Lost in Sweet Sixteen to Louisville
• 2009 Duke - #2 Seed - Lost in Sweet Sixteen to Villanova

The top 2 teams in the RPI (Duke and New Mexico) did not receive a #1 seed.  It is the first time that neither of the top 2 teams in the RPI were a #1 seed.

This is the 6th time that Duke has finished #1 in the RPI.  Kansas has finished #1 5 times.  The only other teams to finish #1 multiple times are Kentucky and North Carolina with 2.

Duke has finished in the Top 10 of the RPI 6 consecutive years and 15 of the last 17.  Miami and Indiana finish in the Top 10 of the RPI for the first time since it began in 1994.

The RPI's of the #1 Seeds are:

• #3 Louisville
• #5 Kansas
• #6 Gonzaga
• #7 Indiana

The sum of their RPI's is 21.  That is the second highest RPI sum of the #1 seeds since 1994.  The highest was 27 in 2000 when the #1 Seeds and their RPI's were:

• #2 Duke
• #3 Arizona
• #9 Stanford
• #13 Michigan State

Only 2 teams that finished #1 in the RPI have won the National Championship in the 19 years of the RPI.  They were Kentucky in 1996 and Duke in 2001.  Both of them were #1 seeds also.

The most common RPI to win the Championship is #3 which has 5 Championships.  No other RPI has more than 2.  Louisville is #3 in the RPI this year.  Those 5 are:

• Kentucky - 1998
• Connecticut - 1999
• Maryland - 2002
• North Carolina - 2009
• Duke - 2010

Out of those 5, only Kentucky was not a #1 seed.

Records vs. Top 5 Winningest NCAA Tournament Teams

Before Kansas came back to defeat Texas today, someone on Twitter commented that Texas could possibly defeat both North Carolina and Texas and not make the tournament.  Although they still will play Kansas again this year, the chances of that happening are probably slim.

However, it made me wonder how teams have done against the top all-time tournament teams in a single year and all-time.

There are five schools that have won more than 90 tournament games all-time.

• Kentucky 113
• North Carolina 108
• UCLA 100
• Duke 96
• Kansas 93

14 schools have at least 5 wins all-time vs. the "Top 5" schools led by Indiana

• Indiana 9
• Marquette, UCLA 8
• Duke, Kentucky 7
• Kansas, Ohio State 6
• Arizona, Florida, Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, Syracuse, Villanova 5

The schools that has the most victories vs. the "Top 5" without a defeat is Texas El-Paso (formerly Texas Western) with 3.

• Defeated Kansas 81-80 in 1966 Elite Eight
• Defeated Kentucky 72-65 in 1966 National Championship
• Defeated Kansas 66-60 in 1992 Round of 32

Arizona is the only team to ever defeat 3 of the "Top 5" in a single tournament in 1997.

• Defeated Kansas 85-82 in Sweet Sixteen
• Defeated North Carolina 66-58 in National Semifinals
• Defeated Kentucky 84-79 (OT) in National Championship

11 other teams have defeated 2 of the "Top 5" twice in a single tournament. Teams in Bold won National Championship

• Texas El-Paso - 1966 (Kansas, Kentucky)
• Houston - 1967 (Kansas, North Carolina)
• Western Kentucky - 1971 (Kentucky, Kansas)
• Florida State - 1972 (Kentucky, North Carolina)
• Louisville - 1986 (North Carolina, Duke)
• Michigan - 1993 (UCLA, Kentucky)
• Kentucky - 1998 (UCLA, Duke)
• Florida - 2000 (Duke, North Carolina)
• Maryland - 2002 (Kentucky, Kansas)
• Michigan State - 2005 (Duke, Kentucky)
• Villanova - 2009 (UCLA, Duke)

Five of the above teams ended up losing to one of the "Top 5" also.  They were Houston, 1967; Florida State, 1971; Michigan, 1993; Michigan State, 2005 and Villanova, 2009.

The combination of schools that have never been beaten in a single tournament among the "Top 5" are:

• UCLA and North Carolina
• UCLA and Kansas
• Duke and Kansas

Here are the times where a school defeated one team, but lost when they had the opportunity to defeat the other:

• UCLA and North Carolina - 1967 Dayton, 1969 Purdue, 1972 Florida State, 1993 Michigan, 1995 Arkansas, 2009 Villanova
• UCLA and Kansas - 1952 Santa Clara, 1967 Houston, 2008 Memphis
• Duke and Kansas - 1990 UCLA, 1993 California, 1994 Purdue

 27 schools have at least 7 losses all-time vs. the "Top 5" led by Kansas

• Kansas 12
• Louisville 11
• Michigan, Michigan State, Villanova  10
• Utah 9
• Illinois, Indiana 8
• Iowa State, Marquette, Notre Dame, Purdue  7
• Arkansas, Duke, Kentucky, New Mexico St, Ohio State, San Francisco, Syracuse, Temple  6
• Arizona St, Connecticut, Houston, Miami (OH), North Carolina, Princeton, Xavier 5

Louisville in 1972 was the only team to ever lose to two "Top 5" teams in a single tournament when they lost to UCLA in the National Semifinals and North Carolina in the National Third Place game.  Of course with today's format, no team can lose more than one game in a single tournament.

The most wins and losses all-time vs. each of the "Top 5" are:

• Kentucky - Marquette - 6 wins; Utah - 6 losses
• North Carolina - Kansas - 3 wins; Michigan State - 5 losses
• UCLA - Florida - 3 wins; San Francisco and Kansas - 5 losses
• Duke - Kentucky - 3 wins; Connecticut, Kansas, Michigan and St. Joseph's - 3 losses
• Kansas - UCLA - 5 wins; North Carolina - 3 losses

Defending Champs Loss

There have been 74 NCAA Tournaments, which means there have been 73 potential opportunities for the defending champion to lose in the following year's tournament.  However, the defending champion has only done so in 42 out of those 73. There are two reasons why the defending champ would not be defeated in the following tournament:

1. They defended their championship.
2. They missed the tournament.

No team has ever defeated the defending champion two years in a row, but there are four schools that have multiple victories over the defending champion.

• Indiana (1953, 1976, 2002)
• Arizona (1997, 2001, 2011)
• Michigan State (1999, 2003, 2009)
• North Carolina State (1974, 2005)  

14 times the team that defeated the defending champion ended up losing to that year's eventual champion with Arizona accomplishing that feat twice in 2001 and 2011.

• In 2001, Arizona defeated Michigan State, but lost to Duke.
• In 2011, Arizona defeated Duke, but lost to Connecticut.

 The last 4 times that a team has defeated the defending champion, they went on to lose to the eventual champion.

• 2006, George Mason defeated North Carolina, but lost to Florida
• 2007, Florida defended championship
• 2008, Florida missed tournament
• 2009, Michigan State defeated Kansas, but lost to North Carolina
• 2010, North Carolina missed tournament
• 2011, Arizona defeated Duke, but lost to Connecticut
• 2012, Iowa State defeated Connecticut, but lost to Kentucky

 George Mason is the only team to defeat the last two defending champions (different teams) in the same tournament when they defeated North Carolina and Connecticut in 2004.

Four teams have defeated two-time defending champions.

• Kansas defeated San Francisco in 1957
• Loyola, Ill. defeated Cincinnati in 1963
• North Carolina State defeated UCLA in 1974
• California defeated Duke in 1993